Business confidence overall remains nearly unchanged

Among the main sectors, confidence in manufacturing declined, while retail recovered.

Manufacturing confidence declined due to inventory growth

In manufacturing, the confidence indicator was -12 in September, three points lower than the revised figure for August. The indicator is clearly below the long-term average of 0.

Production is expected to grow only very slowly in the coming months. The order backlog in September was still below what is considered normal. Finished goods inventories increased and are above average. Capacity utilization was at 57 percent among respondents, slightly less than in August.

In Finland, manufacturing confidence in August was weaker than the EU average.

Construction confidence remained low

The construction confidence indicator was still low in September. Its latest reading was -36 points, only one point higher than in August. The long-term average of the confidence indicator is -8.

According to the September survey, the order backlog in construction improved slightly, but it is still significantly below normal. Expectations for employment development in the construction sector remain weak.

Finland’s construction confidence was the weakest among EU countries in August.

Service confidence stable

Service confidence remained unchanged in September. The balance figure measuring confidence was 0, the same as the result of the August survey. The long-term average of the service sector indicator is +11.

The economic trend has been described as declining in recent months. However, sales have increased slightly, and a slight growth is also expected in the coming months.

In Finland, service confidence was the third weakest among EU countries in August.

Retail confidence recovered from the dip

In retail, confidence recovered in September from the dip in August. The latest reading of the confidence indicator is -9 points, compared to -18 in the previous month. The long-term average is -2.

The sharp decline in retail sales slowed down in September. Sales are expected to decrease slightly in the coming months. Inventories decreased to almost the average level.

In Finland, retail confidence was the second weakest among EU countries in August.